By Nathan Beuman
St George Illawarra Dragons prop Rory O’Brien admits that he is already seeing the dividends from what he is putting in at pre-season training.
The Hurstville United junior, who joined the Red-and-Whites midway through the last campaign, is in the midst of his first pre-season training under the tutelage of Head Coach Paul McGregor.
O’Brien, 25, confesses his goal is to shed his weight ever so slightly to optimise his fitness and movement which he hopes will lead to a place in the first-grade squad come 2015.
“I can already see the changes,” said O’Brien.
“We have a lot of coaches that can work on one-on-one things and picking out our flaws to improve which is beneficial and awesome.”
“It’s my first proper pre-season playing top grade too so it’s been tough but we have the right coaches to help us along the way and just work on the little things to improve.
“McGregor’s been really good for me as he’s straight up and just tells you how it is and that’s what I want.
“Positive or negative feedback, it doesn’t really bother me as that’s the sort of coach I want.
“I’m here to do right by the team and do my best and hopefully that earns me a spot in the team.
“The incentive now is to keep knuckling down on fitness and keep doing my extras.
“Trying to drop my weight so I can get around the park easier is probably my main goal which will hopefully give me a crack to test myself at the top.”